> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://documentation.onesignal.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Delete alias

> Remove a specific alias from a user.

## Overview

Remove a specific alias from a user's identity without deleting the user. Subscriptions and the core user record stay intact. To delete a user along with all their aliases and subscriptions, use the [Delete user](/reference/delete-user) API instead.

***

## How to use this API

1. Identify the user by a known alias:

   * `alias_label`: the type of alias, for example `onesignal_id` or `external_id`.
   * `alias_id`: the value for that alias.

2. Specify the alias to remove with `alias_label_to_delete`. It can be the same as the `alias_label` used to identify the user.

Removals are synchronous and take effect as soon as the request returns.

<Warning>
  The `onesignal_id` alias cannot be removed. Only secondary aliases (like `external_id` or a custom alias) can be removed with this API.
</Warning>

For a full explanation of identity management, see [Users](/docs/en/users) and [Aliases](/docs/en/aliases).

***

## FAQ

### Can I remove the same alias I used to look up the user?

Yes. This is common when an alias was set incorrectly and needs to be removed. Pass the same alias as both `alias_id` (to locate the user) and `alias_label_to_delete` (to remove it).

To delete the entire user record instead of a single alias, use the [Delete user](/reference/delete-user) API.

### What happens if I remove every alias on the user?

The `onesignal_id` alias is permanent and can't be removed, so the user always retains at least that one. After you remove every other alias, the user and their subscriptions stay linked to the `onesignal_id`.

***


## OpenAPI

````yaml DELETE /apps/{app_id}/users/by/{alias_label}/{alias_id}/identity/{alias_label_to_delete}
openapi: 3.1.0
info:
  title: api.onesignal.com
  version: '11.6'
servers:
  - url: https://api.onesignal.com
security:
  - {}
paths:
  /apps/{app_id}/users/by/{alias_label}/{alias_id}/identity/{alias_label_to_delete}:
    delete:
      summary: Delete alias
      description: Remove a specific alias from a user.
      operationId: delete-alias
      parameters:
        - name: app_id
          in: path
          description: >-
            Your OneSignal App ID in UUID v4 format. See [Keys &
            IDs](/docs/en/keys-and-ids).
          schema:
            type: string
          required: true
        - name: alias_label
          in: path
          description: >-
            The alias name or key to locate the user. Most commonly set as
            `external_id` but can be the `onesignal_id` or a [custom
            alias](/docs/aliases).
          schema:
            type: string
            default: external_id
          required: true
        - name: alias_id
          in: path
          description: The specific identifier for the given alias to identify the user.
          schema:
            type: string
          required: true
        - name: alias_label_to_delete
          in: path
          description: The name of the alias to remove.
          schema:
            type: string
          required: true
        - name: Authorization
          in: header
          description: >-
            Your App API key with prefix `Key `. See [Keys &
            IDs](/docs/en/keys-and-ids).
          required: true
          schema:
            type: string
            default: Key YOUR_APP_API_KEY
      responses:
        '200':
          description: '200'
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: object
                properties:
                  identity:
                    type: object
                    properties:
                      onesignal_id:
                        type: string
                        description: >-
                          The OneSignal ID of the user. See
                          [Users](/docs/users).
                        example: OneSignal-ID-in-UUID-v4-format
        '400':
          description: '400'
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/StructuredErrorResponse'
              example:
                errors:
                  - code: internal error code
                    title: example error title
        '404':
          description: '404'
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/StructuredErrorResponse'
              example:
                errors:
                  - code: internal error code
                    title: example error title
        '429':
          description: >-
            Rate limit exceeded. Wait the number of seconds in the `Retry-After`
            header before retrying.
          headers:
            Retry-After:
              description: >-
                Number of seconds to wait before retrying the request. Always
                emitted on 429 responses.
              schema:
                type: integer
                minimum: 0
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/StructuredErrorResponse'
              example:
                errors:
                  - code: Rate Limit Exceeded
                    title: API rate limit exceeded
        '503':
          description: >-
            Service temporarily unavailable. Retry after a short backoff. The
            body may be empty or non-JSON in some failure modes.
          headers:
            Retry-After:
              description: >-
                Number of seconds to wait before retrying. Optional — may be
                absent when the response is generated upstream.
              schema:
                type: integer
                minimum: 0
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/BasicErrorResponse'
              example:
                errors:
                  - Service temporarily unavailable
      deprecated: false
      x-codeSamples:
        - lang: typescript
          label: Node.js SDK
          source: |-
            import Onesignal from '@onesignal/node-onesignal';

            const configuration = Onesignal.createConfiguration({
                restApiKey: 'YOUR_REST_API_KEY',
            });
            const apiInstance = new Onesignal.DefaultApi(configuration);

            // string
            const appId: string = "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000";
            // string
            const aliasLabel: string = "external_id";
            // string
            const aliasId: string = "YOUR_USER_EXTERNAL_ID";
            // string
            const aliasLabelToDelete: string = "external_id";

            try {
              const response = await apiInstance.deleteAlias(appId, aliasLabel, aliasId, aliasLabelToDelete);
              console.log(response);
            } catch (e) {
              if (e instanceof Onesignal.ApiException) {
                // `e.errorMessages` flattens any error-envelope shape to a `string[]`;
                // the raw parsed body remains on `e.body`.
                console.error("deleteAlias failed: HTTP " + e.code, e.errorMessages);
              } else {
                throw e;
              }
            }
        - lang: python
          label: Python SDK
          source: >-
            import onesignal

            from onesignal.api import default_api

            from onesignal.models import *

            from pprint import pprint


            # See configuration.py for a list of all supported configuration
            parameters.

            # Some of the OneSignal endpoints require ORGANIZATION_API_KEY token
            for authorization, while others require REST_API_KEY.

            # We recommend adding both of them in the configuration page so that
            you will not need to figure it out yourself.

            configuration = onesignal.Configuration(
                rest_api_key = "YOUR_REST_API_KEY", # App REST API key required for most endpoints
                organization_api_key = "YOUR_ORGANIZATION_API_KEY" # Organization key is only required for creating new apps and other top-level endpoints
            )



            # Enter a context with an instance of the API client

            with onesignal.ApiClient(configuration) as api_client:
                # Create an instance of the API class
                api_instance = default_api.DefaultApi(api_client)
                app_id = "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000" 
                alias_label = "external_id" 
                alias_id = "YOUR_USER_EXTERNAL_ID" 
                alias_label_to_delete = "external_id" 

                try:
                    api_response = api_instance.delete_alias(app_id, alias_label, alias_id, alias_label_to_delete)
                    pprint(api_response)
                except onesignal.ApiException as e:
                    print("Exception when calling DefaultApi->delete_alias: %s\n" % e)
                    print("Status Code: %s" % e.status)
                    print("Response Body: %s" % e.body)
        - lang: php
          label: PHP SDK
          source: |-
            <?php
            require_once(__DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php');


            // Configure Bearer authorization: rest_api_key
            $config = onesignal\client\Configuration::getDefaultConfiguration()
                                                            ->setRestApiKeyToken('YOUR_REST_API_KEY')
                                                            ->setOrganizationApiKeyToken('YOUR_ORGANIZATION_API_KEY');



            $apiInstance = new onesignal\client\Api\DefaultApi(
                // If you want use custom http client, pass your client which implements `GuzzleHttp\ClientInterface`.
                // This is optional, `GuzzleHttp\Client` will be used as default.
                new GuzzleHttp\Client(),
                $config
            );
            $app_id = '00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000'; // string
            $alias_label = 'external_id'; // string
            $alias_id = 'YOUR_USER_EXTERNAL_ID'; // string
            $alias_label_to_delete = 'external_id'; // string

            try {
                $result = $apiInstance->deleteAlias($app_id, $alias_label, $alias_id, $alias_label_to_delete);
                print_r($result);
            } catch (\onesignal\client\ApiException $e) {
                echo 'Exception when calling DefaultApi->deleteAlias: ', $e->getMessage(), PHP_EOL;
                echo 'Status Code: ', $e->getCode(), PHP_EOL;
                // getErrorMessages() flattens any error-envelope shape to a string[];
                // the raw body remains on getResponseBody().
                echo 'Error Messages: ', implode(', ', $e->getErrorMessages()), PHP_EOL;
                echo 'Response Body: ', $e->getResponseBody(), PHP_EOL;
            } catch (\Exception $e) {
                echo 'Exception when calling DefaultApi->deleteAlias: ', $e->getMessage(), PHP_EOL;
            }
        - lang: go
          label: Go SDK
          source: |-
            package main

            import (
                "context"
                "fmt"
                "os"

                "github.com/OneSignal/onesignal-go-api/v5"
            )

            func main() {
                appId := "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000" // string | 
                aliasLabel := "external_id" // string | 
                aliasId := "YOUR_USER_EXTERNAL_ID" // string | 
                aliasLabelToDelete := "external_id" // string | 

                configuration := onesignal.NewConfiguration()
                apiClient := onesignal.NewAPIClient(configuration)

                restAuth := context.WithValue(context.Background(), onesignal.RestApiKey, "YOUR_REST_API_KEY") // App REST API key required for most endpoints

                resp, r, err := apiClient.DefaultApi.DeleteAlias(restAuth, appId, aliasLabel, aliasId, aliasLabelToDelete).Execute()

                if err != nil {
                    fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error when calling `DefaultApi.DeleteAlias``: %v\n", err)
                    fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Full HTTP response: %v\n", r)
                    if apiErr, ok := err.(*onesignal.GenericOpenAPIError); ok {
                        // ErrorMessages() flattens any error-envelope shape to a []string;
                        // the raw body remains on Body().
                        fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error Messages: %v\n", apiErr.ErrorMessages())
                        fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Response Body: %s\n", apiErr.Body())
                    }
                }
                // response from `DeleteAlias`: UserIdentityBody
                fmt.Fprintf(os.Stdout, "Response from `DefaultApi.DeleteAlias`: %v\n", resp)
            }
        - lang: ruby
          label: Ruby SDK
          source: |-
            require 'onesignal'
            # setup authorization
            OneSignal.configure do |config|
              # Configure Bearer authorization: rest_api_key
              config.rest_api_key = 'YOUR_REST_API_KEY'

            end

            api_instance = OneSignal::DefaultApi.new
            app_id = '00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000' # String | 
            alias_label = 'external_id' # String | 
            alias_id = 'YOUR_USER_EXTERNAL_ID' # String | 
            alias_label_to_delete = 'external_id' # String | 

            begin
              
              result = api_instance.delete_alias(app_id, alias_label, alias_id, alias_label_to_delete)
              p result
            rescue OneSignal::ApiError => e
              puts "Error when calling DefaultApi->delete_alias: #{e}"
              puts "Status Code: #{e.code}"
              # `e.error_messages` flattens any error-envelope shape to an Array<String>;
              # the raw body remains on `e.response_body`.
              puts "Error Messages: #{e.error_messages}"
              puts "Response Body: #{e.response_body}"
            end
        - lang: java
          label: Java SDK
          source: |-
            // Import classes:
            import com.onesignal.client.ApiClient;
            import com.onesignal.client.ApiException;
            import com.onesignal.client.Configuration;
            import com.onesignal.client.auth.*;
            import com.onesignal.client.model.*;
            import com.onesignal.client.api.DefaultApi;

            public class Example {
              public static void main(String[] args) {
                ApiClient defaultClient = Configuration.getDefaultApiClient();
                defaultClient.setBasePath("https://api.onesignal.com");
                
                // Configure HTTP bearer authorization: rest_api_key
                HttpBearerAuth rest_api_key = (HttpBearerAuth) defaultClient.getAuthentication("rest_api_key");
                rest_api_key.setBearerToken("YOUR_REST_API_KEY");

                DefaultApi apiInstance = new DefaultApi(defaultClient);
                String appId = "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000"; // String | 
                String aliasLabel = "external_id"; // String | 
                String aliasId = "YOUR_USER_EXTERNAL_ID"; // String | 
                String aliasLabelToDelete = "external_id"; // String | 
                try {
                  UserIdentityBody result = apiInstance.deleteAlias(appId, aliasLabel, aliasId, aliasLabelToDelete);
                  System.out.println(result);
                } catch (ApiException e) {
                  System.err.println("Exception when calling DefaultApi#deleteAlias");
                  System.err.println("Status code: " + e.getCode());
                  // getErrorMessages() flattens any error-envelope shape to a List<String>;
                  // the raw body remains on getResponseBody().
                  System.err.println("Error messages: " + e.getErrorMessages());
                  System.err.println("Reason: " + e.getResponseBody());
                  System.err.println("Response headers: " + e.getResponseHeaders());
                  e.printStackTrace();
                }
              }
            }
        - lang: csharp
          label: C# SDK
          source: |-
            using System;
            using System.Collections.Generic;
            using System.Diagnostics;
            using OneSignalApi.Api;
            using OneSignalApi.Client;
            using OneSignalApi.Model;

            namespace Example
            {
                public class DeleteAliasExample
                {
                    public static void Main()
                    {
                        Configuration config = new Configuration();
                        config.BasePath = "https://api.onesignal.com";
                        // Configure Bearer token for authorization: rest_api_key
                        config.AccessToken = "YOUR_REST_API_KEY";

                        var apiInstance = new DefaultApi(config);
                        var appId = "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000";  // string | 
                        var aliasLabel = "external_id";  // string | 
                        var aliasId = "YOUR_USER_EXTERNAL_ID";  // string | 
                        var aliasLabelToDelete = "external_id";  // string | 

                        try
                        {
                            UserIdentityBody result = apiInstance.DeleteAlias(appId, aliasLabel, aliasId, aliasLabelToDelete);
                            Debug.WriteLine(result);
                        }
                        catch (ApiException  e)
                        {
                            Debug.Print("Exception when calling DefaultApi.DeleteAlias: " + e.Message );
                            Debug.Print("Status Code: "+ e.ErrorCode);
                            // e.ErrorMessages flattens any error-envelope shape to an IReadOnlyList<string>;
                            // the raw body remains on e.ErrorContent.
                            Debug.Print("Error Messages: " + string.Join(", ", e.ErrorMessages));
                            Debug.Print("Response Body: " + e.ErrorContent);
                            Debug.Print(e.StackTrace);
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        - lang: rust
          label: Rust SDK
          source: |-
            use onesignal_rust_api::apis::configuration::Configuration;
            use onesignal_rust_api::apis::default_api;


            #[tokio::main]
            async fn main() {
                let mut configuration = Configuration::new();
                configuration.rest_api_key_token = Some("YOUR_REST_API_KEY".to_string());


                // Realistic values are pulled from the spec's `example:` fields where present.
                let app_id: &str = "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000";
                let alias_label: &str = "external_id";
                let alias_id: &str = "YOUR_USER_EXTERNAL_ID";
                let alias_label_to_delete: &str = "external_id";

                match default_api::delete_alias(&configuration, app_id, alias_label, alias_id, alias_label_to_delete).await {
                    Ok(resp) => println!("{:?}", resp),
                    Err(e @ onesignal_rust_api::apis::Error::ResponseError(_)) => {
                        // `e.error_messages()` flattens any error-envelope shape to a Vec<String>;
                        // the raw response remains on the ResponseError variant.
                        eprintln!("delete_alias failed: {:?}", e.error_messages());
                    }
                    Err(e) => eprintln!("delete_alias failed: {:?}", e),
                }
            }
components:
  schemas:
    StructuredErrorResponse:
      type: object
      properties:
        errors:
          type: array
          items:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/StructuredErrorItem'
    BasicErrorResponse:
      type: object
      properties:
        errors:
          type: array
          items:
            type: string
          description: One or more human-readable error messages.
        success:
          type: boolean
          description: >-
            Present (and `false`) on some endpoints (notifications, templates,
            segments). Not emitted by every endpoint.
        reference:
          type: array
          items:
            type: string
          description: >-
            Documentation URL fragments related to the error. Only emitted by
            the API-key auth error helpers.
    StructuredErrorItem:
      type: object
      required:
        - code
        - title
      properties:
        code:
          type: string
          description: >-
            Stable error-code identifier. Use this for programmatic branching in
            your integration.
        title:
          type: string
          description: >-
            Human-readable error message intended for logs and operator-facing
            surfaces.
        meta:
          type: object
          additionalProperties: true
          description: >-
            Optional structured details about this specific error. The shape of
            `meta` varies by `code` — for example, the create-user `Conflict`
            code returns `{ conflicting_aliases: { [alias_label]: alias_id } }`.

````